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Old Man.jpg

Review: "The Old Man & the Gun"

October 08, 2018 by Andrew Carden in Reviews

Nearly four decades ago, at the 53rd Academy Awards, Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek had their ultimate moments in the Oscar spotlight as the director and star of Ordinary People and Coal Miner’s Daughter, respectively. Redford scored honors for his filmmaking - and his directorial debut won Best Picture to boot - while Spacek earned Best Actress, to date her lone victory at the Oscars.

Inexplicably, these two titans of the big screen had never teamed up for a motion picture over their storied careers in cinema - that is, until now.

Watching David Lowery’s leisurely The Old Man & the Gun, based on David Grann’s 2003 article from The New Yorker, one wishes Redford and Spacek had collaborated at least half a dozen times prior. They make an absolutely irresistible duo, sporting an enchanting rapport guaranteed to make your heart flutter and plant a gigantic smile on your face.

Redford is Forrest Tucker, the charming career criminal who cannot get enough of robbing banks, escaping prison and doing the whole thing all over again. Spacek is Jewel, the fetching widow who leads the coziest of lives on her horse farm and is taken instantly with the 70-year-old culprit. At first, Jewel cannot even believe Forrest’s story but, over time, is able to overlook her companion’s wrongdoings - heck, even the bank employees he’s robbing have nothing but kind things to say about this gentleman.

If The Old Man & the Gun were exclusively focused on Redford and Spacek, it would be a pitch-perfect endeavor. Alas, there’s a detective on Forrest’s heels and he’s portrayed by Casey Affleck, in a lifeless performance that makes his Oscar-winning turn in Manchester by the Sea look positively giddy. The Affleck scenes feel curiously incomplete, as if much material was left on the cutting room floor. Wonderful actors like Keith Carradine and John David Washington (so fantastic earlier this year in BlackKklansman) linger in the background, sans much of anything to do. As Forrest’s longtime partners in crime, Danny Glover and Tom Waits have a tad more to do but too feel rather underutilized.

With that said, The Old Man & the Gun remains a must-see for the beauty that oozes out of the screen anytime Redford and Spacek grace it. You won’t find another film couple so downright adorable this awards season.

B+

October 08, 2018 /Andrew Carden
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Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War (Poland)

Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War (Poland)

2018 Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions

October 08, 2018 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

This year, 87 countries have submitted pictures for Oscar consideration in Best Foreign Language Film:

Afghanistan, “Rona Azim’s Mother,” Jamshid Mahmoudi, director;

Algeria, “Until the End of Time,” Yasmine Chouikh, director;

Argentina, “El Ángel,” Luis Ortega, director;

Armenia, “Spitak,” Alexander Kott, director;

Australia, “Jirga,” Benjamin Gilmour, director;

Austria, “The Waldheim Waltz,” Ruth Beckermann, director;

Bangladesh, “No Bed of Roses,” Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, director;

Belarus, “Crystal Swan,” Darya Zhuk, director;

Belgium, “Girl,” Lukas Dhont, director;

Bolivia, “The Goalkeeper,” Rodrigo “Gory” Patiño, director;

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Never Leave Me,” Aida Begić, director;

Brazil, “The Great Mystical Circus,” Carlos Diegues, director;

Bulgaria, “Omnipresent,” Ilian Djevelekov, director;

Cambodia, “Graves without a Name,” Rithy Panh, director;

Canada, “Family Ties,” Sophie Dupuis, director;

Chile, “…And Suddenly the Dawn,” Silvio Caiozzi, director;

China, “Hidden Man,” Jiang Wen, director;

Colombia, “Birds of Passage,” Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, directors;

Costa Rica, “Medea,” Alexandra Latishev, director;

Croatia, “The Eighth Commissioner,” Ivan Salaj, director;

Czech Republic, “Winter Flies,” Olmo Omerzu, director;

Denmark, “The Guilty,” Gustav Möller, director;

Dominican Republic, “Cocote,” Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias, director;

Ecuador, “A Son of Man,” Jamaicanoproblem, director;

Egypt, “Yomeddine,” A.B. Shawky, director;

Estonia, “Take It or Leave It,” Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, director;

Finland, “Euthanizer,” Teemu Nikki, director;

France, “Memoir of War,” Emmanuel Finkiel, director;

Georgia, “Namme,” Zaza Khalvashi, director;

Germany, “Never Look Away,” Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director;

Greece, “Polyxeni,” Dora Masklavanou, director;

Hong Kong, “Operation Red Sea,” Dante Lam, director;

Hungary, “Sunset,” László Nemes, director;

Iceland, “Woman at War,” Benedikt Erlingsson, director;

India, “Village Rockstars,” Rima Das, director;

Indonesia, “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts,” Mouly Surya, director;

Iran, “No Date, No Signature,” Vahid Jalilvand, director;

Iraq, “The Journey,” Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji, director;

Israel, “The Cakemaker,” Ofir Raul Graizer, director;

Italy, “Dogman,” Matteo Garrone, director;

Japan, “Shoplifters,” Hirokazu Kore-eda, director;

Kazakhstan, “Ayka,” Sergey Dvortsevoy, director;

Kenya, “Supa Modo,” Likarion Wainaina, director;

Kosovo, “The Marriage,” Blerta Zeqiri, director;

Latvia, “To Be Continued,” Ivars Seleckis, director;

Lebanon, “Capernaum,” Nadine Labaki, director;

Lithuania, “Wonderful Losers: A Different World,” Arunas Matelis, director;

Luxembourg, “Gutland,” Govinda Van Maele, director;

Macedonia, “Secret Ingredient,” Gjorce Stavreski, director;

Malawi, “The Road to Sunrise,” Shemu Joyah, director;

Mexico, “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón, director;

Montenegro, “Iskra,” Gojko Berkuljan, director;

Morocco, “Burnout,” Nour-Eddine Lakhmari, director;

Nepal, “Panchayat,” Shivam Adhikari, director;

Netherlands, “The Resistance Banker,” Joram Lürsen, director;

New Zealand, “Yellow Is Forbidden,” Pietra Brettkelly, director;

Niger, “The Wedding Ring,” Rahmatou Keïta, director;

Norway, “What Will People Say,” Iram Haq, director;

Pakistan, “Cake,” Asim Abbasi, director;

Palestine, “Ghost Hunting,” Raed Andoni, director;

Panama, “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name,” Abner Benaim, director;

Paraguay, “The Heiresses,” Marcelo Martinessi, director;

Peru, “Eternity,” Oscar Catacora, director;

Philippines, “Signal Rock,” Chito S. Roño, director;

Poland, “Cold War,” Pawel Pawlikowski, director;

Portugal, “Pilgrimage,” João Botelho, director;

Romania, “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians,” Radu Jude, director; 

Russia, “Sobibor,” Konstantin Khabensky, director;

Serbia, “Offenders,” Dejan Zecevic, director;

Singapore, “Buffalo Boys,” Mike Wiluan, director;

Slovakia, “The Interpreter,” Martin Šulík, director;

Slovenia, “Ivan,” Janez Burger, director;

South Africa, “Sew the Winter to My Skin,” Jahmil X.T. Qubeka, director;

South Korea, “Burning,” Lee Chang-dong, director;

Spain, “Champions,” Javier Fesser, director;

Sweden, “Border,” Ali Abbasi, director;

Switzerland, “Eldorado,” Markus Imhoof, director;

Taiwan, “The Great Buddha+,” Hsin-Yao Huang, director; 

Thailand, “Malila The Farewell Flower,” Anucha Boonyawatana, director;

Tunisia, “Beauty and the Dogs,” Kaouther Ben Hania, director;

Turkey, “The Wild Pear Tree,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;

Ukraine, “Donbass,” Sergei Loznitsa, director;

United Kingdom, “I Am Not a Witch,” Rungano Nyoni, director;

Uruguay, “Twelve-Year Night,” Álvaro Brechner, director;

Venezuela, “The Family,” Gustavo Rondón Córdova, director;

Vietnam, “The Tailor,” Buu Loc Tran, Kay Nguyen, directors;

Yemen, “10 Days before the Wedding,” Amr Gamal, director.

October 08, 2018 /Andrew Carden
Oscars 2018, Oscars
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Star 2.jpg

Review: "A Star Is Born"

October 06, 2018 by Andrew Carden in Reviews

Alright, let’s get this out of the way. Ranking all things A Star Is Born…

The films: 1954 > 2018 > 1937 > 1976

The leading men: James Mason > Fredric March > Bradley Cooper > Kris Kristofferson

And, of course, the leading ladies: Judy Garland > Lady Gaga > Janet Gaynor > Barbra Streisand

Indeed, Cooper’s A Star Is Born does not reach the sky-high heights of George Cukor’s dazzling 1954 production - then again, what does? It is still a damn fine picture, especially remarkable a feat, given it marks both Cooper’s directorial debut and Gaga’s first stab at headlining a film as an actress. If the picture is ultimately an imperfect one, the richness of their efforts cannot be denied.

The film opens on Cooper’s Jackson Maine, a hard-drinking country star whose love for the bottle draws him one evening into a drag bar. There, he becomes enraptured by Gaga’s Ally, an aspiring singer who, despite her killer voice, is on the verge of giving up on her dreams. Initially resistant to his advances, Ally eventually tags along and, at one of Jackson’s concerts, has the chance to belt out a tune she’s recently composed.

Ally emerges something of an oversight sensation, the clip of her performance going viral. She becomes Jackson’s partner on the road but it is inevitable the prospect of a solo career will rear its head. Such comes to fruition through music producer Rez (Rafi Gavron) who, to some chagrin from both Ally and Jackson, is determined to reinvent Ally as an extravagant (and frankly, far less appealing) pop superstar. As her fame rises, as is the case in all A Star Is Born pictures, his addictions worsen, testing the relationship of these two soulmates.

A Star Is Born is at its most absorbing in the early-going, with Gaga something of a legit revelation. Film buffs will inevitably compare her turn to the likes of Garland and Gaynor, as I admittedly already have, but the performance it actually most reminds me of is Courtney Love’s in The People vs. Larry Flynt - an unaffected, lived-in, completely compelling effort from a musician mostly untested as an actress. Gaga’s rapport with Cooper is stirring and heartfelt, their chemistry as potent on stage as it is in the film’s quieter moments.

If Gaga soars and shimmers early on, the rest of the proceedings, while entertaining enough, don’t quite live up to the stunning promise of the opening hour. As Ally transforms into a pop A-lister, guesting on Saturday Night Live and bringing aboard a pack of back-up dancers, and Jackson further succumbs to his demons, the intimacy of their dynamic, so essential to the film’s success, somewhat fades. On reflection, nearly all of the film’s best and most affecting scenes arrive in the first half. That isn’t to say the latter half is bad - it’s just decidedly inferior.

Beyond Cooper and Gaga, both Sam Elliott (as Jackson’s exasperated brother and manager) and Andrew Dice Clay (as Ally’s father) leave lasting impressions. The original songs, in several cases written and/or produced by its stars, are splendid and the picture also happens to be gorgeously shot, with photography by the great Matthew Libatique.

Garland’s remains the ultimate A Star Is Born but I have to admit, Gaga’s isn’t terribly far behind.

A-

October 06, 2018 /Andrew Carden
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Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma

Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma

2018 Oscar Nomination Predictions (September)

September 11, 2018 by Andrew Carden in Oscars

Aloha, fellow film fans!

Over the past two months, since my first Oscar nomination predictions for the year, an abundance of events have gone down in what is shaping up to be yet another dizzying awards season:

  • Trailers dropped for a plethora of contenders, among them - At Eternity’s Gate; Ben Is Back; Boy Erased; The Favourite; First Man; The Front Runner; Green Book; If Beale Street Could Talk; Mary Queen of Scots; Mid '90s; On the Basis of Sex; The Other Side of the Wind; Peterloo; Roma; and What They Had.

  • The Telluride, Toronto and Venice Film Festivals bolstered the Oscar campaigns of several pictures, including The Favourite, First Man, If Beale Street Could Talk, Roma and A Star Is Born, all earning stellar notices. Generating a more mixed response were Beautiful Boy, Boy Erased, Destroyer, The Front Runner and Peterloo.

  • Actress Cicely Tyson, composer Lalo Schifrin, producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall and publicist Martin Levy were named this year’s recipients of the Academy’s Governors Awards.

  • A handful of early-release Oscar hopefuls, among them BlacKkKlansman, Eighth Grade and The Wife, opened to glowing reviews. Will this finally be the year for Spike Lee and/or Glenn Close?

  • Crazy Rich Asians emerged a commercial phenomenon, spending four consecutive weeks atop the domestic box office and earning splendid critical notices to boot. Could this be a dark horse for a Best Picture nomination? (I wasn't terribly fond of the film but could certainly hop aboard a Michelle Yeoh train.)

  • Oh, and (sigh) the Academy proposed three key changes to the Oscars - the introduction of a so-called "popular film" category (which, thankfully, for this year at least, was later nixed); a three-hour telecast that will have certain categories inexplicably presented during commercial breaks (which, unfortunately, remains the case); and an earlier air date for the telecast, February 9.

No doubt, of course, I'm overlooking something of significance that recently transpired.

With all of that said, please see below my latest set of Oscar predictions, for the month of September. In parentheses you will find how many slots a contender has moved up or down since my last rankings. In many cases, I have dropped a film or performer entirely. Note that I’m still holding off in predictions for Best Original Song and the shorts.

Enjoy and, as always, feel free to comment with your own thoughts as well!

Best Picture

  1. First Man (-)

  2. A Star Is Born (+3)

  3. If Beale Street Could Talk (-)

  4. Roma (NEW)

  5. The Favourite (+4)

  6. Widows (+1)

  7. BlacKkKlansman (-)

  8. Vice (+5)
    —

  9. Can You Ever Forgive Me? (NEW)

  10. The Incredibles 2 (NEW)

  11. Green Book (NEW)

  12. Mary Queen of Scots (-8)

  13. Boy Erased (-6)

  14. Crazy Rich Asians (NEW)

  15. Black Panther (-3)

DROPPED
Beautiful Boy (-14)
Peterloo (-6)
On the Basis of Sex (-5)
The Front Runner (-2)
The Other Side of the Wind (-1)

Best Director

  1. Damien Chazelle, First Man (-)

  2. Alfonso Cuaron, Roma (NEW)

  3. Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk (-1)

  4. Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born (-1)

  5. Steve McQueen, Widows (-1)
    —

  6. Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman (-1)

  7. Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite (+2)

  8. Adam McKay, Vice (NEW)

  9. Ryan Coogler, Black Panther (-1)

  10. Orson Welles, The Other Side of the Wind (NEW)

DROPPED
Mike Leigh, Peterloo (-5)
Felix Van Groeningen, Beautiful Boy (-4)
Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased (-1)

Best Leading Actor

  1. Ryan Gosling, First Man (+1)

  2. Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born (+1)

  3. Willem Dafoe, At Eternity's Gate (+3)

  4. Robert Redford, The Old Man and the Gun (+1)

  5. Christian Bale, Vice (+2)
    —

  6. Lucas Hedges, Boy Erased (-2)

  7. Mahershala Ali, Green Book (NEW)

  8. Steve Carell, Beautiful Boy (-7)

  9. Stephan James, If Beale Street Could Talk (-)

  10. John David Washington, BlacKkKlansman (-)

DROPPED
Hugh Jackman, The Front Runner (-3)

Best Leading Actress

  1. Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me? (+8)

  2. Nicole Kidman, Destroyer (NEW)

  3. Viola Davis, Widows (-1)

  4. Glenn Close, The Wife (-2)

  5. Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born (+2)
    —

  6. Emma Stone, The Favourite (+3)

  7. Julia Roberts, Ben Is Back (NEW)

  8. Kiki Layne, If Beale Street Could Talk (-4)

  9. Saoirse Ronan, Mary Queen of Scots (-8)

  10. Toni Collette, Hereditary (-4)

DROPPED
Felicity Jones, On the Basis of Sex (-5)
Charlize Theron, Tully (-1)

Best Supporting Actor

  1. Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born (+1)

  2. Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy (-1)

  3. Daniel Kaluuya, Widows (+2)

  4. Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? (NEW)

  5. Sam Rockwell, Vice (+1)
    —

  6. Russell Crowe, Boy Erased (-2)

  7. John C. Reilly, Stan and Ollie (NEW)

  8. Ben Foster, Leave No Trace (NEW)

  9. Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman (-6)

  10. Robert Forster, What They Had (-)

DROPPED
J.K. Simmons, The Front Runner (-4)
Armie Hammer, On the Basis of Sex (-3)
Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased (-2)

Best Supporting Actress

  1. Claire Foy, First Man (+4)

  2. Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk (+1)

  3. Olivia Colman, The Favourite (+3)

  4. Nicole Kidman, Boy Erased (-3)

  5. Amy Adams, Vice (+2)
    —

  6. Rachel Weisz, The Favourite (-2)

  7. Sissy Spacek, The Old Man and the Gun (+2)

  8. Natalie Portman, Vox Lux (NEW)

  9. Margot Robbie, Mary Queen of Scots (-7)

  10. Kathy Bates, On the Basis of Sex (-)

DROPPED
Michelle Rodriguez, Widows (-3)

Best Original Screenplay

  1. Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, The Favourite (-)

  2. Alfonso Cuaron, Roma (NEW)

  3. Adam McKay, Vice (-)

  4. Jean-Claude Carriere and Julian Schnabel, At Eternity's Gate (+2)

  5. Mike Leigh, Peterloo (-4)
    —

  6. Jonah Hill, Mid '90s (+1)

  7. Brian Hayes Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Green Book (NEW)

  8. Oja Kodar and Orson Welles, The Other Side of the Wind (-3)

  9. Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade (-)

  10. Daniel Stiepleman, On the Basis of Sex (-6)

DROPPED
Diablo Cody, Tully (-2)
Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You (-1)

Best Adapted Screenplay

  1. Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk (-)

  2. Nicole Perman and Josh Singer, First Man (+2)

  3. Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters, Irene Mecchi, Stephen J. Rivele, Eric Roth and Christopher Wilkinson, A Star Is Born (+5)

  4. Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel and Kevin Willmott, BlacKkKlansman (-2)

  5. Nicole Holofcener, Can You Ever Forgive Me? (NEW)
    —

  6. Gillian Flynn and Steve McQueen, Widows (-1)

  7. David Lowery, The Old Man and the Gun (NEW)

  8. Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased (-1)

  9. Luke Davies, Beautiful Boy (-6)

  10. Beau Willimon, Mary Queen of Scots (-4)

DROPPED
Matt Bai, Jay Carson and Jason Reitman, The Front Runner (-2)
Jane Anderson, The Wife (-1)

Best Animated Feature

  1. The Incredibles 2 (-)

  2. Smallfoot (+1)

  3. Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2 (+1)

  4. Isle of Dogs (-2)

  5. Fireworks (-)
    —

  6. Mirai (+1)

  7. Lu Over the Wall (+2)

  8. Teen Titans Go! to the Movies (NEW)

  9. The Grinch (-3)

  10. Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse (-2)

DROPPED
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (-1)

Best Documentary Feature (first stab at predicting these)

  1. RBG

  2. Three Identical Strangers

  3. King in the Wilderness

  4. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

  5. The Oslo Diaries
    —

  6. The Silence of Others

  7. Inventing Tomorrow

  8. Jane Fonda in Five Acts

  9. Fahrenheit 11/9

  10. Love, Gilda

Best Foreign Language Film (ditto)

  1. Roma (Mexico)

  2. Cold War (Poland)

  3. Capernaum (Lebanon)

  4. Never Look Away (Germany)

  5. Sunset (Hungary)
    —

  6. Girl (Belgium)

  7. Border (Sweden)

  8. Loro (Italy)

  9. La Familia (Venezuela)

  10. The Interpreter (Slovakia)

Best Cinematography

  1. Matthew Libatique, A Star Is Born (+1)

  2. Linus Sandgren, First Man (+4)

  3. James Laxton, If Beale Street Could Talk (-2)

  4. Alfonso Cuaron, Roma (NEW)

  5. Robbie Ryan, The Favourite (-1)
    —

  6. Sean Bobbitt, Widows (-3)

  7. Hoyte Van Hoytema, Ad Astra (+1)

  8. Rachel Morrison, Black Panther (+1)

  9. Dick Pope, Peterloo (-3)

  10. Bruno Delbonnel, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (NEW)

DROPPED
John Mathieson, Mary Queen of Scots (-4)
Ruben Impens, Beautiful Boy (-1)

Best Costume Design

  1. Sandy Powell, The Favourite (+2)

  2. Colleen Atwood, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (-)

  3. Sandy Powell, Mary Poppins Returns (+4)

  4. Andrea Flesch, Colette (+2)

  5. Mary Zophres, First Man (+3)
    —

  6. Alexandra Byrne, Mary Queen of Scots (-5)

  7. Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther (+2)

  8. Jacqueline Durran, Peterloo (-3)

  9. Guy Speranza, Stan and Ollie (NEW)

  10. Jenny Beavan, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (-5)

DROPPED
Joanna Johnston, Welcome to Marwen (-1)

Best Film Editing

  1. Tom Cross, First Man (+4)

  2. Jay Cassidy, A Star Is Born (-)

  3. Joe Walker, Widows (-)

  4. Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, If Beale Street Could Talk (-3)

  5. Alfonso Cuaron and Adam Gough, Roma (NEW)
    —

  6. Barry Alexander Brown, BlacKkKlansman (-1)

  7. Sam Sneade, The Favourite (-1)

  8. Hank Corwin, Vice (NEW)

  9. Debbie Berman and Michael P. Shawver, Black Panther (-1)

  10. John Axelrad and Lee Haugen, Ad Astra (NEW)

DROPPED
Chris Dickens, Mary Queen of Scots (-4)
Stephen Mirrione, Beautiful Boy (-2)
Bob Murawski and Orson Welles, The Other Side of the Wind (-1)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

  1. Vice (+3)

  2. The Favourite (-)

  3. Stan and Ollie (NEW)
    —

  4. Mary Queen of Scots (-3)

  5. At Eternity's Gate (+1)

  6. Peterloo (-3)

  7. Black Panther (-2)

  8. Deadpool 2 (-)

  9. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (NEW)

  10. Suspiria (-1)

DROPPED
Solo: A Star Wars Story (-4)
First Man (-1)

Best Original Score

  1. Justin Hurwitz, First Man (-)

  2. Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk (-)

  3. Terence Blanchard, BlacKkKlansman (-)

  4. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Mary Poppins Returns (+2)

  5. Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs (-)
    —

  6. James Newton Howard, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (+1)

  7. Michael Giacchino, The Incredibles 2 (+1)

  8. Hans Zimmer, Widows (NEW)

  9. Alexandre Desplat, The Sisters Brothers (NEW)

  10. Michel Legrand, The Other Side of the Wind (NEW)

DROPPED
Max Richter, Mary Queen of Scots (-7)
Alan Silvestri, Ready Player One (-2)
Pino Donaggio, Domino (-1)

Best Production Design

  1. Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton, The Favourite (+1)

  2. John Myrhe and Gordon Sim, Mary Poppins Returns (+1)

  3. Stuart Craig and Anna Pinnock, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (+1)

  4. Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas, First Man (+4)

  5. Lisa Chung and Guy Hendrix Dyas, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (-)
    —

  6. Gina Cromwell and James Merifield, Mary Queen of Scots (-5)

  7. Paul Harrod and Adam Stockhausen, Isle of Dogs (-1)

  8. Stephan Cressend and Cecile Vatelot, At Eternity’s Gate (NEW)

  9. Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart, Black Panther (-2)

  10. Suzie Davies and Charlotte Watts, Peterloo (-)

DROPPED
Inbal Weinberg, Suspiria (-2)

Best Sound Editing

  1. A Star Is Born (-)

  2. First Man (-)

  3. Avengers: Infinity War (+1)

  4. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (-1)

  5. Ad Astra (-)
    —

  6. Black Panther (-)

  7. Ready Player One (+1)

  8. The Incredibles 2 (-1)

  9. Widows (-)

  10. Mary Poppins Returns (NEW)

DROPPED
Solo: A Star Wars Story (-1)

Best Sound Mixing

  1. A Star Is Born (-)

  2. First Man (-)

  3. The Incredibles 2 (-)

  4. Widows (-)

  5. Avengers: Infinity War (+2)
    —

  6. Ad Astra (-1)

  7. Black Panther (-1)

  8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout (-)

  9. Mary Poppins Returns (-)

  10. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (-)

Best Visual Effects

  1. First Man (-)

  2. Avengers: Infinity War (-)

  3. Ready Player One (-)

  4. Ad Astra (-)

  5. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (-)
    —

  6. Black Panther (+1)

  7. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (-1)

  8. A Wrinkle in Time (NEW)

  9. Deadpool 2 (+1)

  10. Solo: A Star Wars Story (-1)

DROPPED
Mowgli (-3)

September 11, 2018 /Andrew Carden
Oscars 2018, Oscars
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Glenn 2.jpg

Review: "The Wife"

September 09, 2018 by Andrew Carden in Reviews

Thank heavens for Glenn Close.

Among the finest actress of the stage and screen over the past half-century, she is a cinematic goddess who can make even the most insipid of projects (like, for instance, Albert Nobbs) sparkle. When, however, she's graced with a gangbusters screenplay, legit fireworks are bound to happen.

Such is precisely the case in The Wife, a picture that finds Close in her most compelling form since the likes of Dangerous Liaisons and Reversal of Fortune. As was the case in those two films (with John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons), The Wife provides Close a comparably gifted leading man (Jonathan Pryce) who too devours the material and makes his leading lady all the more dazzling. 

The film opens on Joan and Joe Castleman, a duo married for nearly 40 years who reside quite comfortably in their lavish Connecticut home. One morning, they are awoken by the most welcome of phone calls - Joe has just been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his renowned body of work. Alongside son David (Max Irons, who manages his hold his own against these two powerhouses), off they go to Stockholm, where Joe shall pick up his prize.

As the trip progresses, however, family tensions gradually boil to the surface. For one, David deeply resents his father for neglecting to recognize his own writing contributions. The real strain, however, is between husband and wife, with such anxiety only acerbated by the presence of Nathaniel Bone (Christian Slater), a writer who desperately wishes to pen a biography of Joe. The more Nathaniel meddles in their trip, the more exasperation Joan and David feel toward the man of the hour. It isn't long before repressed feelings, not to mention unsettling revelations, send the Castlemans spiraling out of control. 

Over its opening hour or so, The Wife is the most leisurely of slow burns, a fine showcase for its stars, sharply written by the great Jane Anderson, but admittedly lacking much in the way of exhilaration - I have to wonder, frankly, if many viewers, including those key members of the Academy, will have patience for this picture. 

There comes a point, at last, when Band-Aids are ripped off the skin and Close and Pryce have the license to ferociously go at it on the screen in a fashion they really haven't been able to in years. The Wife ultimately emerges a master class in acting for these two juggernauts, who have boundless chemistry and ring completely convincing as a couple in crisis. The brilliance of Anderson's screenplay makes Close and Pryce all the more shimmer.

With that said, is The Wife a perfect film? Not really. Some of the Castlemans' story is conveyed through flashbacks, which aren't as compelling or expertly acted, though they do at least provide the exquisite Elizabeth McGovern the opportunity to swoop in for a memorable, if all too fleeting cameo as an author who tries to dissuade young Joan (Annie Starke) from diving into professional writing. 

While not without its faults, The Wife is an absolute must-see for Close's riveting turn, which is nicely supported by Pryce and Irons, not to mention Anderson's dynamite script. Fingers crossed this early release doesn't fall through the cracks of a chaotic Oscar season...

A-

September 09, 2018 /Andrew Carden
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